Inventory assembly or inventory part?

We appreciate your inquiry about inventory and assembly management in QuickBooks Desktop, Buddy1999. I'll provide details to help you decide which option to choose when setting up assemblies in the program.

You'll want to create an inventory item for each part if you want to use the Total BOM Cost in the Cost Method field when setting up the assembly item. This option calculates the assembly cost based on the total cost of its component items in the Bill of Materials (BOM). 

This will also let you set up a Reorder Point to help you keep tabs on your inventory, which is not available for assembly items. Basically, this feature will let you know what’s running low and what’s out of stock.

You can read more details about this in the Inventory Information section of this article: Add, edit, and delete items in QuickBooks Desktop.

Alternatively, you might consider using the User Defined Cost option if you don't need to track the inventory of purchased items separately. This is beneficial for situations where you want to manually set a cost that isn't based on the BOM, such as when you have a fixed cost for a specific assembly, regardless of the component costs.

I've gathered some helpful articles to guide you through inventory tracking in QuickBooks:

• Balance Sheet and Inventory/Stock Valuation reports show different amounts for Inventory Asset account
• Customize item reports

Please remember that we're always here if you have follow-up questions regarding item receipts, assembly creation, or inventory reporting in QuickBooks Desktop. The Community is ready to provide assistance whenever you need it.